Lost Planet 2 - Capcom - X360 & PS3

[LK]

A game designed from the start to have 4-player co-op? Sign me the hell up.

The game throws a lot of systems at you with minimal training. Those familiar with the first Lost Planet will have the best of it. The four-player co-op manifests itself as short stages coupled with lots of action and fighting. Very intense. One guy can be sniping, another using a mobile suit, and two more flankings and using rocket launchers... they've got a lot of variety. The first boss fight is *massive*, and takes place in a giant arena where all four players have to work together to bring the fucker down.

They have a persistent character system where you can modify one of five factions / skins looks, their weapons, and pick two special abilities that enhance your character in unique ways, such as moving stealthily in Campaign or conserving T-Eng. T-Eng is a concept too long to go into for this review. Like I said, a lot is thrown at you.To encourage replayability, each stage has "Good Job" objectives that, depending how they are completed, will award you a certain number of career points for your character that unlocks new things as you advance. You can also pick up [?] Boxes that contain credits (used in a slot machine to unlock weapons, abilities, and emotes), abilities, etc. One of the main driving forces is to unlock everything. There are a large number of Titles and Emotes to unlock.

I haven't touched online but what I have noticed is that they have a persistent faction battle between each of the five sides in a weekly online war similar to old school Chromehounds. As you participate you and help your side win, you can change the balance of power in a certain map region. At the end of the week, credits and other rewards (?) are awarded to the faction members based on their performance and the overall performance of the faction.

It was a lot of fun playing co-op, though it does show you how many people picking up this game are surprisingly bad at video games. Most annoying is having to replay a mission for a Good Job that's easy to do but most people miss, like everyone cheering at the end of a mission over a giant victory. Some people don't give a shit and will undermine your progression.

One of the major gripes that keeps this game from going farther is that the interface / camera can actually negative impact your ability to fight. Navigating tight passages will throw off your cursor on your target or readjust your orientation. This was one of the major problems I had with the game (and one of the reasons I'm changing to a Rent over Buy).

Verdict: Rent It.

[LK]

There's a lot of good gripes about this game from varying review sources that I recommend you all check out when you have the time. I spent a lot of time replying early levels instead of advancing the story, but there's one level mentioned that apparently destroys the enjoyment that *could* be had from campaign.

[stu]

Nothing turns me off faster than cameras working against you. Since I never played the first one, I wouldn't mind picking this up at some point though. Maybe it can make up for not having Mass Effect 2 on the 360 I don't own.

[LK]

Just an FYI, I don't normally trade in games for credit, but with Red Dead out tomorrow, that's exactly what I did with this game. The more I played the more it turned into a giant turd.

[rrazcueta]

Did you play couch co-op before you turned this game back in? If not, how's the voice chat online? And, what's the progression like? Do you level up and get different gear? Or is it all just cosmetic?

Mostly what I'm looking for from this game is something like Borderlands with more of an emphasis on tight level and boss monster design. I hear the character designs are pretty cool, too. Stuff like that will totally get me in on it.

[LK]

This is about as far from Borderlands as you can get. Voice chat online is alright. Progression is random, and opens more options rather than more power. You have all the tools you need to win at the beginning of the game.

[Azazel]

I'm very excited about buying this out of the bargain bin at some point in the far future!